Oklahoma becomes title-holding state

Effective July 1, Oklahoma became a title-holding state.
The Oklahoma Tax Commission on June 7 sent the OBA the below “MEMO” with information.
The OTC held several training sessions during the past month, to help bankers and others get acclimated to the changes. We have slides and videos related to these sessions, available on the front page of OBA.com.

MEMO
MOTOR VEHICLE

To: Oklahoma Vehicle Lienholders
From: Nichole Gillett, Oklahoma Motor Vehicle Director
Cc: Oklahoma Bankers Association, Oklahoma Credit Unions Association
Date: 06/7/2022
Re: Oklahoma Legislative Changes

Dear Registered Oklahoma Lienholders,

Oklahoma is implementing significant pieces of legislation regarding vehicle liens and titles. We wanted to offer the following updates to our Oklahoma vehicle records processes.

Title-Holding State
Effective July 1, 2022, Oklahoma will become a title-holding state for all vehicles, boats, and motors that are issued a title. All titles processed on or after July 1 with an active lien will be held by the lienholder. All titles processed prior to July 1 will remain valid until a new title action (transfer, request for duplicate title, etc.) occurs.
To streamline the transition to a title-holding state, the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) will assign each lienholder a Lienholder ID. Lenders should use their Lienholder ID on all lien documents submitted to the State of Oklahoma. The Lienholder ID allows lien activities to be associated with your financial institutions so that you can run queries on vehicles associated with the lienholder ID. All lienholders will be issued a Lienholder ID regardless of their participation in Oklahoma electronic lien and title programs. If you do not know your Lienholder ID or need to be assigned a Lienholder ID, please visit OkCars.tax.ok.gov.
Lienholder IDs allows financial institutions to assert numerous addresses:
• Physical address of the financial institution;
• Mailing address of the financial
institution for OTC correspondence i.e.: account letters;
• Title mailing address where all titles associated with the Lienholder ID will be mailed;
• Branch addresses to allow financial institutions to associate numerous branches with the same Lienholder ID;
Unless otherwise directed by the financial institution, the OTC will mail all titles to the title mailing address on file for the Lienholder. You may review and update your addresses and lienholder accounts at OkCars.tax.ok.gov. We recommend that this be completed by July 1.
If your financial institution was assigned numerous lienholder IDs (ie a unique Lienholder ID for each branch) and you would like to consolidate to a single Lienholder ID, please complete form 797-E or visit OkCars.tax.ok.gov.
Once a lien has been satisfied on a title that is held by a lienholder, lienholders must release their lien in accordance with Oklahoma law. If the lienholder is holding the paper title, the title must be sent to the owner.

Electronic Liens and Titles
As part of the implementation of SB998, Oklahoma will allow lienholders to submit lien documentation electronically and hold titles electronically. Lienholders wishing to hold titles electronically and/or submit lien documentation electronically will need to sign on with an approved third-party service provider (aka “vendor”).
Through these vendors, lienholders will be able to release liens filed on or after May 15, 2022, add liens, and request duplicates of titles they hold. These electronic lien and title services are only available through approved vendors. At this time, there is no additional cost to third-party vendors to provide these services in Oklahoma. A list of approved vendors will be available on the OTC website.
Participation in the Oklahoma ELT program is optional. Lienholders may continue to submit paper requests for any of these services directly to the OTC or to an Oklahoma tag agency.
All requirements for perfecting and releasing a lien as required by Oklahoma law remain in full force and effect.
Additional information and training will be available once a vendor has been approved by the OTC regarding how liens and titles may be processed and stored electronically.
Changes to Oklahoma Title Stock
As a result of transitioning to a title holding state, a few changes have been made to the face of the title. Oklahoma title stock has a pre-printed information field and currently lists the owner name and address in the top left.
If a vehicle is subject to a lien, all titles issued July 1, 2022 and later will have the following:
• A black bar placed over the pre-printed information field;
• Mailing Address of Lienholder;
• Lien Date and Lienholder Name;
• Name and Address of Owner;
If the vehicle is not subject to a lien, the title will have the following:
• A black bar placed over the pre-printed information field;
• Mailing Address of Owner;
• Name and Address of Owner;
To help accommodate these changes and to pre-empt any title stock supply issues, we are temporarily delaying the printing of paper titles for approximately 8-12 weeks unless the title is needed for the purpose of transferring ownership.
Titles that are processed prior to July 1 will be mailed to owners. Titles that are processed on or after July 1 will be sent to the lienholder.

Driver Services and Vehicle Services To Be Under One Agency
Oklahoma driver services and vehicle services will soon be housed under a single state agency, Service Oklahoma. Driver services will transfer from the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety on November 1, 2022 and vehicle services will transfer from the Oklahoma Tax Commission on January 1, 2023. Additional information and contact information to follow soon.
If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at nichole@gillett@tax.ok.gov.